Are anti-ethanol gas treatments worth it for Florida drivers?

September 2, 2011|Steven Cole Smith, AUTOMOTIVE

As more states follow Florida's lead and mandate – or at least encourage -- the use of ethanol alcohol in gasoline, motorists unhappy with the performance of alcohol-laced fuel have two choices: Try to find pure gas, which is difficult, or try one of the growing number of ethanol treatments you can pour into your tank.

Larry Williams, a motorcycle rider from Lakeland, isn't happy about it. "I've already had to make repairs to my bike that the mechanic said was due to ethanol," he says. "Can over-the-counter additives help?"

Yes and no, according to Erik Bjornstad, technical director for Longwood-based Bell Performance, which bills itself as the oldest fuel additive manufacturer in the country. The company -- founded by Robert J. Bell in 1909 when he created a gasoline additive for the Ford Model T -- sells a product called Mix-I-Go that mitigates ethanol-related problems.

But like other name-brand ethanol treatment additives, Mix-I-Go can't eliminate the ethanol itself.

More than 99 percent of the automotive gasoline pumps in Florida dispense E10, which is 90 percent gas, 10 percent ethanol. Consider it a parting gift from outgoing Gov. Charlie Crist: On December 31, 2010, the law requiring almost all gasoline sold in Florida to contain 10 percent alcohol ethanol went into effect.

In 2008, Agricultural Commissioner Charles Bronson predicted that within 10 years, Florida would be a multi-billion-gallon producer of ethanol. But the bottom has essentially dropped out of the ethanol industry, with federal subsidies largely keeping the factories that are still in business, mostly in the Midwest corn belt, afloat.

So it appears Florida is stuck with E10. And the federal government has already endorsed the use of E15, though it isn't mandated yet, pending multiple lawsuits.

The central problem is the alcohol can damage rubber, plastic and fiberglass parts, essentially eating away at them, sending the tiny pieces into the engine. Products like Mix-I-Go helps protect those parts, and use a detergent to help clean out the engine. Ethanol also attracts moisture, Bjornstad said, "pulling it from the atmosphere," especially in fuel stored in products like marine engines and lawnmowers. Water, of course, can cause corrosion, and it also mixes with the ethanol, Bjornstad said, essentially separating from the gasoline and sinking to the bottom of the tank. Additives, he said, help keep the ethanol and water from separating from the gas.

These additives are worth using in a mower, a boat, small agricultural-type engines, two-stroke engines, or have an older motorcycle or older car and use E10. But are they worth using for modern cars, which are designed to tolerate E10?

"That's a simple math question," Bjornstad said, noting the additives can increase mileage slightly, and ethanol is known to reduce mileage. A 16-ounce bottle of Mix-I-Go costs $15 and treats 160 gallons, which is at least eight tankfuls for most vehicles. Try an additive, he said, and see if if helps your mileage enough to offset the cost.

Your only other alternative is find a station that sells pure gasoline, which is getting in Florida. A web site called Pure-gas.org lists more than 4,000 stations in the U.S. that sell pure gasoline. The non-profit site was develped in 2009 by Sam Hokin, a Wisconsin physics and math teacher who was concerned about reports of ethanol-related damage to some BMW motorcycles, like the one he rides.

"Florida has a big stake in this," Hokin said, given our plethora of boats, motorcycles, outdoor equipments and vintage cars and motorcycles. Hokin's Website lists about 240 station in Florida, but few are in metro areas – just three in Orlando, one in Tampa, one in West Palm Beach and two in Fort Lauderdale. In some states, ethanol-free gasoline is simply not available, Hokin said.

The state Renewable Fuel Standard law exempts airplanes, watercraft, motorcycles, collector vehicles and off-road vehicles from being forced to use E10. Mike Brown, vice-president of Harris Oil in Mt. Dora, which sells pure gasoline, noted that it is technically illegal for a motorist in a modern car or truck to pull up to a pure-gas pump and filling up. Most customers use portable gas cans, and Brown said he has no control over the subsequent use of the fuel. Even for him, pure gas is not easy to find, he said. Hae has to truck some of it in fromGeorgia.

Brown has done his own experimenting in his old pickup truck, with 150,000 miles on it: "With E10, I average four miles per gallon less than I do on pure gasoline," he said. "It just isn't a good deal for everybody."